It has been the object of many horseshoe designers and farriers to provide a horseshoe which is hoof-friendly. Typically, the horseshoes installed on the rear legs of the race-horse are provided with retaining metallic-clips. After the installation of the horseshoe that has metallic clips, it is not uncommon for the horse to sense the shoe as an encumbrance and consequently try to get rid of the shoe by kicking or doing whatever it takes to dislodge the shoe. If the horseshoe is dislodged and is in its upright use-position with the metallic clips typically with a vertical orientation, and if the horse steps on the dislodged shoe, the metallic clips are capable of piercing the underside of the horse's hoof, thereby causing injury and rendering the horse temporarily dysfunctional for racing purposes. This is an issue known to farriers and other horse-racing personnel. In a horse-racing environment, any hoof injury translates into temporary financial loss and inconvenience, with the added possibility of hoof-infection and further undesirable consequences. It is therefore of paramount importance to obviate any injury that may be caused to the hoof-underside by possible unintended penetration of the hoof underside by metallic clips from a dislodged horseshoe either in the horse's stall or elsewhere.
Thus far, the above injury-issue either does not seem to have been addressed in the field of horseshoes for horse-racing, or, a reasonable solution to the penetration-injury problem described supra has not become available. There is thus a need for a solution to address the injury-issue to the hoof, discussed supra. The preferred solution needs to be simple, economical and should be capable of being implemented on any horseshoe design that has metallic retaining clips.
Despite the availability of horseshoe designs providing shock absorption, flexibility and such features, there is still a need for obviating the possibility of penetration-injury caused by metallic clips, by providing a solution that is characterized by simplicity, economy and including a feature that offers universal applicability.